This is exactly the kind of book I would have loved as a rather nerdy child. I had quite the obsession with books of ‘general knowledge’ and random facts and perused them for hours. Clearly, why I love trivia competitions so much now!

Since December 1868, the famous Whitaker’s Almanack has been published in the UK chockfull of all the year’s happenings. As an iconic publication, the work has been referenced in other literary texts from Stoker’s Dracula to Fleming’s Moonraker.

This volume spans 100 years and devotes three pages to each year featured covering several topics.

For example, 1789 – why was this year important? George Washington was elected as the first American president, sailors mutinied on HMS Bounty and the Storming of the Bastille initiated the French Revolution.

I have had such fun ‘dipping’ into it over the past few days and I know that kids with similar tastes will love doing so as well. There is something to fascinate all types of tastes from popular culture (when was Nintendo founded, the creation of the first pizza) to more serious historical events.

For your non-fiction reader, this would be a terrific addition to Christmas shopping and would certainly keep him/her absorbed for quite some time over the holidays!